Drug Shows Promise for Alzheimer's

A drug commonly used to treat skin cancer appears to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms, according to a new study in mice at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.University neuroscientists, reporting in the journal Science, called their findings “a dramatic breakthrough” in the effort to find better treatments for the 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease. "When used in mice, the drug was successful in removing the buildup of amyloid plaque in the brain - a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease -- as well as reversing cognitive symptoms and memory deficits,” researchers said in a Case press release issued with the study’s findings. The drug – bexarotene, approved for the treatment of cancer by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more than a decade -- also helped restore “lost nesting behaviors” in mice with Alzheimer's disease within three days of treatment, the researchers reported. "This is an unprecedented finding," said Dr. Paige Cramer, lead author of the study. "Previously, the best existing treatment for Alzheimer's disease in mice required several months to reduce plaque in the brain."

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